CMA Finalists 2016

Award finalists continue to demonstrate innovation and creativity in the use of contactless and NFC technology

The global appetite for contactless technologies shows no sign of abating as the 2016 Contactless Intelligence Contactless & Mobile Awards (sponsored by VISA Europe) honours achievements across a wide range of sectors and countries throughout Europe and the rest of the world. Now in its 10th year, the Contactless & Mobile Awards are presented to those companies, organizations and retailers who have done the most to embrace and implement contactless/NFC technology into their day-to-day operating practices.
These awards represent a real promotional springboard and give the winners a reputation and credibility for their efforts within the industry. The competition is open to all implemented contactless applications within the relevant sectors, regardless of geographic region or size of corporation. In fact 2015 saw our most diverse percentage of nominees per region than ever before, with 13% based in the UK, 34% based in mainland Europe, and 53% Rest of World.

8 categories are judged by a panel of industry experts, 1 category is voted for by the industry and 2 categories are selected by Visa Europe – the Winners being announced at a prestigious evening ceremony organized in London following the Contactless Intelligence Spring Conference on the evening of the 26th April 2016.

“The inclusion of NFC and contactless technology into a variety of everyday services is a testament to the tenacity and work done by the industry over the past ten years. However, technology never stands still and this year we have cast our net wider to include breakthrough applications, platforms and foundation technologies (including bitcoin and the blockchain) that will shape the face of FinTech for years to come. I am continually impressed by the innovation and standard of entries. This year’s finalists have not disappointed and I wish them all the very best of luck,” comments Steve Atkins, Editor-in-Chief of Contactless Intelligence and CEO of Krowne Communications, the company behind Contactless Intelligence.

Following are the categories and the finalists;

Payment InnovationAwarded for innovative schemes and applications, as well as technology. This category looks at disruptive approaches and the smart use of technology in the contactless and mobile payment space.

Bank Pekao – Multi–currency debit card (Poland)

Smartlink – Contactless Companion Platform (Switzerland)

Beijing Mobile Payment Solutions – Mobile Payment Module (China)

PayKey – Social network payment enablement (Israel)

Retail & Loyalty
The retail industry is the front line for all consumer oriented technology innovation. Rewarding customers for brand loyalty is core to the retail industry and there are many innovative contactless and mobile implementations out there. The judges are looking for forward thinking, integrated solutions that take retail and/or loyalty to the next level.

Vix Technology – Vix SmartSite® Stadium (Australia)

Red Ant/Halfords – Smartwatch-enabled click-and-collect service (UK)

Advanced Card Systems Ltd. – ePLUS (Hong Kong)

Ingenico Group/schuh – iSMP series (UK)

Transport & Ticketing
Awarded for the best use of contactless / NFC technology within the transportation and ticketing environment. Be it public transport or tickets for events, this award is aimed at those companies who have embraced the new contactless / NFC technology to deliver their specific products to a mass audience.

Contactless & Mobile City Initiatives
Awarded for the most ambitious and widespread initiative to implement mobile or contactless technology. Applications can include mobile payment, public transportation, hospitality and tourist schemes.

Payment Security
There is no payment without security. In this category, we are looking for the most convincing examples of smart security mechanisms used to secure transactions – from the use of cryptocurrencies to biometrics.

2C2P – One-Time-Card (Singapore)

Spire Payments – inSPire mPOS API (UK)

HYPR Corp.– HYPR Biometric Tokenization (USA)

Keypacso – Keypasco PKI sign (Sweden)

Next Generation Ecosystem
In this category we are looking at block chain ecosystems and use cases such as cryptocurrency platforms, supply chain or identity management. Cutting out ineffective banking intermediaries, these technologies could save billions for consumers and the financial services industry.

Epiphyte – Chain Reactor (USA)

Ledger – Ledger Blue (France)

Plutus.it – Contactless payments powered by the Blockchain (UK)

Yoti Ltd. – Yoti: Digital Identity System (UK)

ID & Authentication
Secure Authentication is key when it comes to securing people’s identity. Contactless and mobile technology adds the convenience to ID applications, facilitating the use of government and/or private sector issued schemes. Awarded to the most prolific secure ID system out there.

Mobile Wallet
Awarded for the smartest, most consumer-friendly and easy-to-use mobile wallet implementation. Judges will be looking at security, privacy and stability as well as convenience.

fastacash – fastacash social platform for payments (Singapore)

Cashcloud – cashcloud mobile wallet (Luxembourg)

Points – Points Loyalty Wallet (Canada)

VUB Banka – VUB Wave2Pay (Slovakia)

Started in 2013 and back by popular demand, the Contactless Intelligence ‘Industry Choice Award’ will be opened on April 6th 2016 and run for ten days. The nominees of this award are the finalists in the eight categories outlined in this year’s CMAs. Voted for by the industry at www.contactlessintelligence.com, this award allows the mobile, NFC and contactless industry to vote on who they think should get recognition. The winner will be announced on the 26th April, during the Contactless Intelligence Conference Awards Gala.

Visa Europe will also present the winners of two further awards on 26th April: The ‘Visa Contactless Award for Business Leader of the Year’ and the ‘Visa Award for Contribution to Contactless’.